''Waterloo Road'' is a British television drama series set in a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

of the same name, first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. The show was filmed and set in the English town of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

from series one until the end of series seven, and the Scottish town of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

from the beginning of series eight until the end of its original run. The first episode was broadcast on BBC One on 9 March 2006, and the final episode of the original run was broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

on 9 March 2015. ''Waterloo Road'' ran for 200 episodes and exactly nine years. In September 2021, the show was recommissioned for an eleventh series, with production returning to the

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

area.

Production

Hill Top School, Kirkholt (geograph 2654680)

The first series contained eight episodes and was first broadcast from 9 March to 27 April 2006 on BBC One. Subsequently, the show was renewed for a second series that was 12 episodes long. This series began on 18 January 2007 and finished on 26 April of the same year. Series 3 was commissioned, consisting of twenty episodes (which would become the normal length of the show's series), and premiered on 11 October 2007 and ending on 13 March 2008. Starting on 7 January 2009, the 4th series consisted of 20 episodes and ended on 20 May. Filming of the 5th series began on 11 May 2009 and began airing on Wednesday 28 October (the previous Sunday for

BBC One Scotland BBC One Scotland is a Scottish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Scotland and is a Scottish variation of the UK-wide BBC One. For all of the time the channel is referred to on screen as ''BBC One Scotland'', sometimes us ...

). The final episode aired on 15 July 2010. For the first time, the series was recorded in HD. Production was meant to move locations in 2009, with storylines in the fourth and fifth series designed to coincide with that move. However, these plans did not go ahead, so the show remained in Rochdale until

Series 7 Series 7 may refer to: *The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and *Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA *'' Series 7: The Conte ...

. The filming of the fifth and sixth series was back-to-back, from 2009 to 2010. The sixth series ran from 1 September 2010 to 6 April 2011. Greenock-Academy-2012-05-20-east

The seventh series began airing on 4 May 2011 and ended on 25 April 2012. The series lasted for 30 episodes. As part of a BBC initiative to produce more shows out of England, in August 2011 the show was commissioned for fifty episodes, comprising the eighth and ninth series, in a new location in

, Scotland. The Rochdale site was demolished shortly after filming ended in 2011 and is now a housing estate. For most of the eighth series, the school was a non-fee charging

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

, as opposed to a comprehensive school as it was for the first seven series. The eighth series, again 30 episodes long, started on 23 August 2012 and concluded on 4 July 2013. Starting on 5 September the same year, the ninth series ran until 12 March 2014. It was announced on 2 April 2014 that the 10th series would be the show's last. The final scenes of the show were recorded on 22 August 2014. On 11 December, it was announced that the last ten episodes of the show would be aired first on

, with a repeat on BBC One shown later in the evening. The final episode was the show's 200th and aired on 9 March 2015, exactly nine years after the first episode. In the story, the school remains open after a lengthy battle against a school merger. In September 2019, the entire series was made available on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

. On 23 September 2021, it was announced that ''Waterloo Road'' would return with a new series on BBC One. The series' production returned to the Greater Manchester area, serving as an out-of-London replacement for ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'', with at least thirty episodes a year expected to air. Filming commenced in February 2022. The revived series included one episode scripted by Lisa Holdsworth. On 15 October 2022, the BBC revealed a new logo and revamped version of the theme on their social media channels. It was also announced that the new series would air in the beginning of early 2023. In November 2022, it was confirmed that seven episodes will initially be shown from January 2023.

Cast

The show utilises an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

, led by the school's staff members. Six Headteachers were featured over the series' run, beginning with

Jason Merrells Jason Scott Merrells (born 2 November 1968 in Epping, Essex) is an English actor, who is best known for his roles in ''Casualty'', '' Queer as Folk'', ''Cutting It'', '' Waterloo Road'' and ''Emmerdale''. Early life and education Jason Sc ...

as Jack Rimmer. After leaving early in the third series, Merrells was followed by

Eva Pope Eva Rebecca Pope (born 16 November 1967) is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of longest-serving headmistress Rachel Mason in '' Waterloo Road'', and appearances in ''Coronation Street'', ''Dream Team'', '' Baby Boys'' and ''Het ...

as Rachel Mason until series 5,

Amanda Burton Irene Amanda Burton is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sam Ryan in the BBC c ...

as Karen Fisher in series 6 and the first part of series 7,

Alec Newman Alec Newman (born 27 November 1974) is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's ''Dune''. Early life Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father is San ...

as Michael Byrne in series 7 and 8,

Laurie Brett Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''. Early and personal life ...

as Christine Mulgrew in series 9 and

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include ''Drop the D ...

as Vaughan Fitzgerald in series 10. Brett also stars in series 8 and 10, outside of Christine's tenure as Headteacher. The longest-running cast members were

Philip Martin Brown Philip Martin Brown (born 9 July 1956) is a British actor from Manchester. He is known for his long-running portrayal of English teacher Grantly Budgen in the hit BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'', w ...

(Grantly Budgen),

Jason Done Jason Done (born 5 April 1973) is an English actor who appeared as Mordred in the 1998 TV miniseries ''Merlin'', opposite Sam Neill. He is best known for his role as Stephen Snow in ITV drama '' Where The Heart Is'' from 1999 to 2001 and Tom C ...

(Tom Clarkson) and

Chelsee Healey Chelsea "Chelsee" Jade Healey (born 6 August 1988) is an English actress. She is known for playing Janeece Bryant in the BBC school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2012), Honey Wright in the BBC medical drama series ''Casualty'' ...

(Janeece Bryant), who appeared from series 1 until their exits in series 9 for Brown and 8 for Done and Healey, respectively. Healey was not in Series 5, however. The original teaching characters consisted of Headteacher Jack Rimmer (

); Deputy Headteacher Andrew Treneman (

Jamie Glover Jamie Blair Glover (born 10 July 1969) is an English actor. He is best known for being cast as Harry Potter in the second cast of the West-End production of ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' in 2017. He portrayed Deputy Head Andrew Treneman ...

); Art teacher and Head of Pastoral Care Kim Campbell (

Angela Griffin Angela Mellissa Griffin (born 19 July 1976) is a British actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera ''Cor ...

); Head of English Grantly Budgen (

); English teachers Lorna Dickey (

Camilla Power Camilla Joy Cynthia Power (born 13 November 1976) is an Irish-born English actress. She is best known for her appearances in the television series ''Emmerdale'' and '' Waterloo Road''. Early life and education Power was born in Cork, Ireland, a ...

) and Tom Clarkson (

); Head of French Steph Haydock (

Denise Welch Jacqueline Denise Welch (born 22 May 1958) is an English actress, television personality, writer and broadcaster. Her roles include Natalie Barnes in ''Coronation Street'' (1997–2000), Steph Haydock in '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2010), and ...

); and Head of Drama Izzie Redpath (

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...

). The student characters included Donte Charles (

Adam Thomas Adam Thomas (born 11 August 1988) is an English actor, known for his roles as Donte Charles in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2009, 2022–present) and Adam Barton in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2009� ...

), Chlo Grainger ( Katie Griffiths), Janeece Bryant (

), Yasmin Deardon (

Rhea Bailey Rhea Bailey (born 12 July 1983) is a British actress. She is the younger sister of singer Corinne Bailey Rae. Her father is Kittitian and her mother is English. She is best known for her roles as PC Mel Ryder in ''The Bill'' between 2008 and 20 ...

), Mika Grainger (

Lauren Drummond Lauren Emma Drummond (born 23 December 1987) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Mika Grainger in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2008) and Chantelle Lane in the BBC One medical drama series ...

) and Lewis Seddon (Craig Fitzpatrick). Series 2 featured a number of new main characters: pupil Brett Aspinall ( Tom Payne), his father and sponsor governor Roger Aspinall (

Nick Sidi Nick Sidi (born 22 February 1966) is an English people, English actor. He is the husband of Marianne Elliott (director), Marianne Elliott and son-in-law of actress Rosalind Knight. He often plays drama or comedy roles on television and frequent ...

) and school secretary Davina Shackleton (

Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...

). Series 3 introduced several new characters, including new deputy head Eddie Lawson (

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', ...

) and, in the seventh episode, new headteacher Rachel Mason (

). Other staff arrivals include NQT English teacher Jasmine Koreshi (

Shabana Bakhsh Shabana Akhtar Bakhsh (born 1981) is a Scottish actress of Pakistani descent who has appeared in soap operas such as ''River City'' and ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors''. Her best known role is in the BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterl ...

) and Head of Music and Drama Matt Wilding (

Chris Geere Christopher William Geere (born 18 March 1981) is an English actor. He is known for playing the lead role of Jimmy Shive-Overly in the FX and FXX dark comedy series ''You're the Worst'' and Roger Clifford in the 2019 film '' Detective Pikachu' ...

). Pupils introduced in the third series include Aleesha Dillon (Lauren Thomas), Danielle Harker (

Lucy Dixon Lucy Jane Dixon (born 9 August 1989) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Danielle Harker in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' and Tilly Evans in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Dixon i ...

), Karla Bentham (

Jessica Baglow Jessica Baglow (born 23 March 1989) is an English actress, known for '' Gentleman Jack'', '' Where the Heart Is'' and '' Waterloo Road''. Early life and career Baglow was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. She began her acting career a ...

), Paul Langley (Thomas Milner), Bolton Smilie (Tachia Newall) and Michaela White (

Zaraah Abrahams Zaraah Clover Abrahams (born 7 January 1987) is an English actress and voiceover artist. She is known for her roles as Magda in '' Girls in Love'' from 2003 to 2005, Michaela White in the BBC school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 20 ...

). The fourth series introduces several new characters who become focal points of the subsequent episodes. For example, the Kelly family seems to be the epitome of the "Family from Hell" and consists of an alcoholic mother Rose Kelly ( Elaine Symons) and her five children: eldest son Marley ( Luke Bailey), borderline psychopath Earl (

Reece Noi Reece Noi (born 13 June 1988) is a British-Ghanaian actor. He is best known for portraying Taylor Mitchell in the BBC school-based drama serial, ''Grange Hill'', from 2004 to 2007, and also Noel Parkin and Earl Kelly in the second and fourth s ...

), daughter Sambuca (

Holly Kenny Holly Kenny (born 23 January 1995 in Leeds, England) is an English actress. She played the role of Sambuca Kelly on the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 2009 until her character was killed off in 2011. Career Kenny firs ...

), 11-year-old Denzil (Reece Douglas), and baby Prince. New Head of PE Rob Cleaver (

Elyes Gabel Elyes Cherif Gabel (; born 8 May 1983) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Dr Gurpreet "Guppy" Sandhu in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' (2004–2007), computer genius Walter O'Brien in the CBS series ''Scorpion'' ...

) begins a relationship with English teacher Jasmine and becomes the boxing mentor of pupil Bolton. He is later sacked by Rachel and Eddie when it transpires he is giving Bolton pills to help him win an important match, ultimately ending his and Jasmine's relationship. Rachel's sister Melissa Ryan (

Katy Carmichael Katy Jane Carmichael (born 5 March 1970) is an English actress, director and producer. She is most known for her roles Twist Morgan in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'', Lucy Barlow in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap ''Coronation Street'', and Mel ...

) and nephew Phillip (

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

) are also introduced. Series 4 marked the exit of long-term characters Davina, Chlo, Donte and Janeece. Marley, Eddie, Matt, Flick, Jasmine and Andrew also made their final appearances in episode 20. Long-serving characters Steph Haydock (

), Kim Campbell (

), Rachel Mason (

), Paul Langley (Thomas Milner), Karla Bentham (

), Danielle Harker (

), Aleesha Dillon (Lauren Thomas), Bolton Smilie (Tachia Newall) and Michaela White (

), as well as Phillip Ryan (

), Siobhan Mailey (

Phoebe Dynevor Phoebe Harriet Dynevor (; born 17 April 1995) is an English actress. Dynevor is known for her role as Daphne, the fourth Bridgerton child, in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–present). She began her career as a child actress, ...

) and Jo Lipsett (

Sarah-Jane Potts Sarah-Jane Potts (born 30 August 1976) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Saint (Sarah) in '' Sugar Rush'', Ellie, Abs' on/off girlfriend in '' Casualty'' and Jo Lipsett in '' Waterloo Road''. Potts is the sister of actor Andre ...

) left at the end of Series 5. For series 6, former ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...

'' and ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'' actress

joined the cast as new headteacher, Karen Fisher.

Linzey Cocker Linzey is the family name of *Andrew Linzey Andrew Linzey (born 2 February 1952) is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and prominent figure in Christian vegetarianism. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, an ...

played alongside Burton as on-screen daughter, Jess Fisher and

Ceallach Spellman Ceallach Spellman ( ; born 31 August 1995) is an English actor and presenter best known for playing Matthew Williams in the revival of ITV drama '' Cold Feet'', Harry Fisher in the BBC One school-based drama '' Waterloo Road'' from 2010 to 2011 ...

played her on-screen son, Harry Fisher, ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' actor

Lucien Laviscount Lucien Leon Laviscount (; born 9 June 1992) is a British actor. He first came to prominence in 2007 after appearing in teen drama ''Grange Hill''. He later appeared in several television series, including ITV's ''Coronation Street'' (2009) and B ...

was cast as rebellious teenager Jonah Kirby and

also reprised her role as Janeece Bryant, not as a pupil, but as the new school secretary. On 21 December 2009, it was announced that former ''Coronation Street'' actress

Tina O'Brien Tina Michelle O'Brien (born 7 August 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sarah Platt in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2008, 2015–present). She also appeared in the BBC One drama s ...

had been cast as Bex Fisher, and that ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' winner

George Sampson George William Sampson (born 29 June 1993) is an English street dancer, television presenter, singer, and actor. He won the second series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' on 31 May 2008 at the age of 14. He is an official ambassador of the United ...

would be joining the cast as a new Year 11 student, Kyle Stack – his scenes aired from episode 11. Also from episode 11, Scott Haining played Nate Gurney, a love interest for the newly homosexual Josh Stevenson,

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...

member and former ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' actor

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

guest starred as Mr Burley, new character Ronan Burley's (

Ben-Ryan Davies Ben-Ryan Davies (born 30 December 1988) is an English actor who played Ronan Burley in ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'', Ryan in ''From There to Here'' and Nick Savage in ''Hollyoaks''. Career He appeared in the CBBC show Jinx (TV ...

) father, and

Karen David Karen Shenaz David (born 15 April 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and songwriter, best known for portraying Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's fairytale-themed musical-comedy television series ''Galavant'', as we ...

portrayed new Head of Spanish, Francesca "Cesca" Montoya.

Wil Johnson Wilbert Charles Johnson (born 18 April 1965) is an English actor, who has had notable television roles in '' Waking the Dead'' and '' Babyfather'', and on stage in ''Othello''. He played Dom Andrews in ''Emmerdale'' from 2012 to 2014. Early ...

portrayed new Geography teacher, Marcus Kirby, Jonah's father, and the family was further expanded by the addition of

Anna Jobarteh Anna Jobarteh is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Ruth Kirby on the BBC One, BBC school drama ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road''. She also played a role in thriller series ''Paradox (UK TV series), Paradox'' in 2009, ...

, who played his daughter and new pupil, Ruth. Elaine Symons also reprised her role as Rose Kelly in Episode 6. Series 6 saw the last appearances of Cesca Montoya (

), Ruby Fry (

Elizabeth Berrington Elizabeth Berrington (born 3 August 1970) is an English actress and graduate of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art; she is best known for her roles as Ruby Fry in '' Waterloo Road'', Paula Kosh in '' Stella'', Mel Debrou in ''Moving Wall ...

), Jonah Kirby (

), Ruth Kirby (

), Marcus Kirby (

), Adanna Lawal (

Sharlene Whyte Sharlene Natasha Whyte (born 19 May 1976) is an English actress who is best known for playing Jenny Edwards in ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' and Adanna Lawal, the Head of Pastoral Care, in '' Waterloo Road''. She trained at RADA The Roy ...

) and Nate Gurney (Scott Haining). It ended on 6 April 2011. The seventh series added several new cast members, including new Headteacher Michael Byrne (

), science teacher and deputy headteacher Sian Diamond (

Jaye Jacobs Emma Jaye Jacobs (born 27 May 1982), known professionally as Jaye Jacobs, is an English actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Donna Jackson in the BBC medical drama series '' Holby City'' from 2004 to 2011 and 2017 to 2022 and deput ...

), school site manager Rob Scotcher (

Robson Green Robson Golightly Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, angler, singer-songwriter and presenter. His first major TV role was as hospital porter Jimmy Powell in BBC drama series ''Casualty'' in 1989. He then went on to portray Fusili ...

), maths teacher Daniel Chalk (

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...

), new Head of English Linda Radleigh (

Sarah Hadland Sarah Hadland is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Stevie Sutton in the BBC One BAFTA-nominated comedy television series '' Miranda'' (2009–2015) and Trish in ''The Job Lot'' (2013–2015). Hadland appeared as the Ocean S ...

), school benefactor Lorraine Donnagan (

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama ''North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My F ...

) and pupil Jodie "Scout" Allen (

Katie McGlynn Katie McGlynn (born 16 July 1993) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jodie "Scout" Allen in '' Waterloo Road'' (2011–2013), Sinead Tinker in ''Coronation Street'' (2013–2020), and Becky Quentin in ''Hollyoaks'' (2021–202 ...

). Guest stars in the seventh series included:

Gemma Atkinson Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984) is an English influencer, actress, radio presenter and former glamour model. She played Lisa Hunter in ''Hollyoaks'' (2001–2005, 2022) and in three spin-off series, '' Hollyoaks: After Hours'' (20 ...

, Dominique Jackson,

Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 in ...

Margi Clarke Margi Clarke (born 25 May 1954) is an English actress and radio and television presenter. She had a leading role in the film ''Letter to Brezhnev'' (1985), a low-budget film which had an international release. Later, Clarke played Jackie Dobbs ...

Jodie Prenger Jodie Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known as the winner of BBC television series '' I'd Do Anything'' on 31 May 2008 and the second series of ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2006. In 2022, she began portraying the ...

Lisa Riley Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed Mandy Dingle in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced Jeremy Beadle as ...

Tupele Dorgu Tupele Dorgu (born 13 December 1977 in Preston, Lancashire) is an English actress and voice over artist. She is best known for playing the role of Kelly Crabtree in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 2004 to 2010. Education Dorgu ...

Tracy Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie V ...

Kai Owen Kai Owen (born 4 September 1975) is a Welsh actor of stage and screen, known to Welsh audiences for his numerous roles on Welsh language television and to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of Rhys Williams in ''Torchwood'' and Pete Bucha ...

and

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

. Series 8 marks the start of Waterloo Road in Greenock.

and

Georgie Glen Georgie Glen is a Scottish actress, known for her film and television work in both dramatic and comedic roles. Among her most popular performances are the running characters of Miss Higgins in the BBC One period drama series ''Call The Midwife ...

join the main cast as English teacher Christine Mulgrew and History teacher Audrey McFall respectively. The tenth and final series began in October 2014, with

's Vaughan Fitzgerald taking over as the new headmaster of Waterloo Road. An extensive set of new characters joined him, including his new partner, Art teacher Allie Westbrook (

Nicola Stephenson Nicola Stephenson (born 5 July 1971) is an English actress. She played the roles of Margaret Clemence in ''Brookside'', Julie Fitzjohn in '' Holby City'', Sarah Williams in '' The Chase'', Allie Westbrook in '' Waterloo Road'', and Tess Harris ...

), his two children and her two children.

Pooky Quesnel Joanna Gabrielle "Pooky" Quesnel (born 30 April 1966) is an English actress, screenwriter and singer. Early life Quesnel was born and raised in Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles, Lancashire, along with her five siblings. Her father was born in ...

joined the cast recurringly in the first half of the season as Vaughan's ex-wife.

Laura Aikman Laura Holly Aikman (born 24 December 1985) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Debbie in ''Not Going Out'' and ''Gavin and Stacey'' as Sonia. Early life Aikman was born in the London Borough of Brent in 1985, the daughter ...

joined the cast as new deputy headteacher Lorna Hutchinson, as well as ''

Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes and produced by Kudos in assoc ...

'' star

Charlotte Beaumont Charlotte Beaumont is an English actress known for portraying Chloe Latimer in the ITV crime drama ''Broadchurch'', as well as for her roles in '' Waterloo Road'' and the film ''Jupiter Ascending ''Jupiter Ascending'' is a 2015 space opera ...

appearing as new student Kenzie Calhoun. Quesnel became part of the main cast in the second half of the series. The

series 10 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

characters consisted of Headteacher Vaughan Fitzgerald (

), Deputy Headteacher Lorna Hutchinson (

), Head of English Christine Mulgrew (

), Head of Modern Languages George Windsor (

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

), Home Economics Teacher and Housemistress Maggie Budgen (

Melanie Hill Melanie Jane Hill (born 11 January 1962) is a British actress, known for playing Hazel Redfern in ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1985–1986), Aveline in ''Bread'' (1986–1991), Rita Dolan in Kay Mellor drama ''Playing the Field'' (1998–2002), Ma ...

); History Teacher Audrey McFall (

), GPD Teacher Guy Braxton (Regé-Jean Page), Science Teacher Marco D'Olivera (Stefano Braschi), Geography Teacher Olga Fitzgerald (

) and School Secretary Sonya Donnegan (

Victoria Bush Victoria Bush (born 15 January 1978) is a British actress and comedian. She is best known for portraying the roles of Tina O'Kane in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' (2001–2006), and Sonya Donnegan in the BBC One school-based dram ...

). An extensive set of pupils were prominent in the final series, including Rhiannon Salt (Rebecca Craven), Lenny Brown (Joe Slater), Lisa Brown (Caitlin Gillespie), Darren Hughes (Mark Beswick), Shaznay Montrose (Je'Taime Morgan Hanleyand), Justin Fitzgerald (

Max Bowden Max Bowden (born 31 December 1994) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Justin Fitzgerald in the BBC One school-based drama series ''Waterloo Road (TV series), Waterloo Road'', and his portrayal of Ben Mitchell (EastEnders), Be ...

), Leo Fitzgerald (Zebb Dempster), Kenzie Calhoun (

), Scott Fairchild (Andrew Still), Carrie Norton (

Tahirah Sharif Tahirah Amandla Sharif is a British actress noted mainly for her roles as student Carrie Norton in '' Waterloo Road'' in 2015, Rebecca Jessel in the Netflix horror anthology series ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' in 2020, and PC Lizzie Adama in ' ...

), Bonnie Kincaid (

Holly Jack Holly Jack (born 1989 or 1990) is a Scottish actress and acting coach. She is best known for her role as Brodie family, Nicole Brodie in the BBC Scotland soap opera, ''River City'', in which she joined as a series regular in October 2010. In Ju ...

), Dale Jackson (Finlay MacMillan) and Abdul Bukhari (

Armin Karima Armin Karima is an Iranian/British actor known for his role as Abdul Bukhari in BBC Waterloo Road, Ant in IBoy, Kasim Al-Yazbek in FOX series Tyrant and Malek Amir in Netflix series Sex Education. Career While training Karima booked his first ...

). On 24 January 2022, the BBC revealed that former cast members

, Katie Griffiths and

would reprise their roles in the forthcoming series as Donte Charles, Chlo Charles and Kim Campbell respectively, with Campbell now as Waterloo Road's Headteacher. In early February that same year the actors cast as the teaching and support staff were revealed, including

Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Ratcliff (''née'' Marsh, previously Ryder and Lomas; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television ser ...

. Finally on 21 February 2022 the actors selected to play the pupils were introduced to the public, most notably Scarlett Thomas, daughter of former Waterloo Road actor Tina O’Brien and niece of

, who has been cast as his on-screen daughter Izzy Charles.

Transmissions and ratings

The final episode of series 3 attracted 6 million viewers. The final episode of series 4 attracted 4.5 million viewers. The last episode of series 5 aired on 15 July 2010 with an audience of 4.5 million viewers. Series six started airing on BBC One from 1 September, with the second episode following the next day with a strong audience of 5.1m. The series took a mid-term break from 27 October 2010 and resumed with episodes 11–20 beginning on 2 February 2011 The finale of series 10 aired on 9 March 2015, nine years after the first episode aired on 9 March 2006.

Awards and nominations

International broadcasts

DVD releases

Series one and two were released by

2entertain 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...

, while series three to eight were released by Acorn DVD. Series nine and ten were not released on home media.

Online

Full episodes (series 1 episode 1 to series 8 episode 30) were previously available to watch on YouTube but have now been replaced by highlights of Waterloo Road. All episodes were made available on

on 19 September 2019, categorized under Drama & Soaps. This was announced on the official Waterloo Road and BBC iPlayer social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, on 19 September 2019.

References

External links

Official website – web archive
*

at

Shed Media Warner Bros. Television Studios UK (formerly Shed Media Group and later Warner Bros. Television Productions UK) is a British creator and distributor of television content. The Group produces long-running television brands in drama, factual, doc ...

(web archive) * * {{National Television Award for Outstanding Drama Series 2006 British television series debuts 2000s British LGBT-related drama television series 2000s high school television series 2010s British LGBT-related drama television series 2010s high school television series 2020s British LGBT-related drama television series 2020s high school television series Alcohol abuse in television BBC Scotland television shows BBC television dramas British high school television series British television series revived after cancellation Child abuse in television Domestic violence in television English-language television shows Gay-related television shows Lesbian-related television shows Murder in television Rape in television Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Greater Manchester Teenage pregnancy in television Television series about families Television shows set in Scotland Youth culture in the United Kingdom Fictional schools Television series about teenagers